Markets – Page 189
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Liabilities rise as equities and bond yields drop
EUROPE – Pension funds are facing a two-way hit as the current market correction co-incides with a fall in bond yields. But this is only a short-term problem, say pension funds.
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German Pensionskassen stay steady with bonds
GERMANY – Pensionskassen, or insurance-type German pension funds, continue to invest heavily in bonds while keeping exposure to equities well below that of their Swiss and Austrian peers, a new survey by international accountant Ernst & Young reflects.
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FRR steps into emerging market equities
FRANCE - The €32bn Fonds de Réserve pour les Retraites (FRR) has started a temporary and limited exposure to emerging market equities before tendering a full mandate in summer.
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Suffolk re-appoints State Street
UK – The £1.2bn (€1.8bn) Suffolk County Council pension fund has re-appointed State Street as its custodian.
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AP1 to review active Japan strategy
SWEDEN – Martin Currie, Nomura and Marathon have been placed under review as the largest Swedish buffer fund, the SEK188bn (€20.4bn) Första AP-fonden (AP1), reviews its Japanese equity strategy.
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Experts urge funds to diversify, not protect portfolios
GLOBAL – Long-term investors such as pension funds should diversify rather than protect portfolios against short-term losses, according to a new study by ABN Amro and the London Business School.
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Flintshire awards £305m mandates
UK – The £793m (€1.2bn) Clwyd Pension fund has awarded two unconstrained mandates worth £145m to Investec and Stone Harbour, a £120m UK equities mandate to Standard Life and a £40m GTAA mandate to Barclays Global Investors.
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Fidelity adds commodities and real estate to mixed new fund
NETHERLANDS - Fidelity International has launched a mixed investment fund, which also includes commodities and indirect property, in addition to the traditional asset classes equity, fixed income and currency, it said.
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Achmea to start €10bn covered bond programme
NETHERLANDS - Achmea Hypotheekbank has said it will issue a €10bn covered bond programme aimed at institutional investors.
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IPE-QUEST: North Europe pension fund tenders €192m equity mandate
EUROPE – A northern European pension fund is looking for a manager to invest $250m (€192.5m) in global equities using IPE-QUEST (QN694).
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Sweden’s AP funds launch joint SRI council to vet foreign equities
SWEDEN – Sweden’s national pension buffer funds, AP1, AP2, AP3 and AP4, have introduced a joint ethical council to review their socially responsible investment (SRI) holdings in foreign companies.
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IPE-QUEST: Three Dutch mandates up for grabs
NETHERLANDS – Dutch pension funds are looking for bond and equity managers for a $200m (€154.5m), a $300m and a $400m mandate respectively using IPE-QUEST.
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Take the equity route to natural resources, argues US manager
EUROPE – The case for investing in natural resources related equities rather than direct commodity investment was made by Charlie Ober, natural resources portfolio manager at US asset manager T Rowe Price.
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Morley opens in Frankfurt to spearhead German sales
GERMANY – UK asset manager Morley has opened a sales office in Frankfurt this week to break into Germany’s retail and institutional fund market.
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Asset managers bullish about outlook for equities
EUROPE – A rise in volatility and a fall in liquidity during 2007 will drive investors towards higher quality assets, while commodities are set to take a breather, according to Merrill Lynch’s 2007 outlook.
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Environment Agency in €75m ‘responsible’ fixed income search
UK – The Environment Agency is looking for a manager to invest £50m (€75.5m) in a diverse UK non-gilt fixed interest portfolio for its £1.5bn pension scheme.
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Credit Suisse nabs Griffiths from Axa
UK – Paul Griffiths joins Credit Suisse as managing director and head of fixed income for asset management.
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Nordea/SEB merger rumours leave funds untroubled
SWEDEN – Swedish pension funds are unfazed by renewed merger rumours between Nordea, the Nordic region’s largest financial services group, and third-largest SEB AB.
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German 30-year bond issue take-up ‘disastrous’
EUROPE – European institutional investors have shunned the recently issued German long bonds: for the €6bn bond isseue only €5.885bn were offered, and only €4.9bn were allocated during Wednesday’s auction.
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Worldwide pensions assets hit €18trn
GLOBAL - Equities out-performance and widespread diversification into alternatives doubled pension fund assets over a 10-year period to $23.2trn(€17.8trn) at the end of 2006, according to investment consultants Watson Wyatt.
